Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement

Summary#

This bill would change the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to add beef to the law's country-of-origin labeling rules. It defines "beef" as meat from cattle (including veal), requires origin notices for beef (including ground beef), and raises penalties for labeling violations. The bill's stated purpose is to prohibit retailers from designating foreign beef as originating in the United States. It also says that rulings by the World Trade Organization or similar groups cannot be used to limit the Secretary of Agriculture's authority to require these labels.

What it means for you#

• Consumers: Stores would have to show the country of origin for beef products, including ground beef, so you could see where the meat came from.
• Retailers and sellers: Stores must label beef origin according to the updated rules and could face stronger penalties for failing to do so.
• Producers and packers: The bill adds beef to the set of commodities covered by the existing country-of-origin rules; the bill text does not provide other changes for producers.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on overall federal costs or budget effects. The bill changes penalties in the statute: it keeps a $1,000 penalty for each general violation, and adds a special penalty for beef of $5,000 for each pound of beef not in compliance with the labeling requirements.

Proponents' View#

Sponsors introduced the bill to prohibit retailers from labeling foreign beef as originating in the United States and to strengthen enforcement by defining beef in the statute, adding beef to the notice rules, and increasing penalties for noncompliance.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information on opponents' views in the bill text or metadata.